Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
three hours) from San Pedro's Catholic church, up in the town center, roughly hourly from
5am to 10:30am.
TOP OF CHAPTER
San Juan La Laguna
POP 5868 / ELEV 1567M
Just 2km east of San Pedro, on a rise above a spectacular bay, this mellow village has es-
caped many of the excesses of its neighbors, and some travelers find it a more tranquil set-
ting in which to study Spanish or experience indigenous life. San Juan is special: the
Tz'utujil inhabitants take pride in their craft traditions - particularly painting and weaving
- and have developed their own tourism infrastructure to highlight these traditions to out-
siders.
As you wander round the village, you'll notice various murals depicting aspects of San
Juan life and legend.
Tours
Asociación de Guías de Ecoturismo Rupalaj K'istalin
( 4772-2527;
www.sanjuanlalaguna.org
; 8am-noon & 2-5pm)
The association offers a worthwhile
tour of San Juan La Laguna's points of interest, led by indigenous guides (Q110 per per-
son), in Spanish. You'll visit two weaving cooperatives, both of which use dyes from nat-
ive plants, and an art studio/gallery featuring the Tz'utujil primitivist painting style (see
the boxed text,
Click here
)
. The office is 300m up the hill from the dock.
Other tours offered include trips with local fisherman in rustic
cayucos
to learn about
traditional lake fishing techniques and a demonstration of the harvesting of the lakeshore
reeds, which are used as material for
petates
, the woven mats the town is known for.
The association can also set up guides for one-way walks to San Marcos La Laguna
(Q125 per person), returning by
lancha
; and hikes up Rupalaj K'istalin (Q130 per per-
son), the mountain that towers above San Juan and is the site of Maya religious rituals.
TOUR
Tza'an Ab'aaj
To see how organic agriculture is practiced on the lake, visit this innovatively managed
garden 50m left of the dock (when facing the lake). Tours (Q30) focus on medicinal plants
TOUR
